India Rules Out Joining China-Backed RCEP Trade Pact

India has said it is not thinking about joining a big trade group called RCEP, which is led by China.

The government sources told NDTV that there is nothing being discussed about joining RCEP right now.

India is instead focusing on making smaller trade deals with individual countries.

The main concern is that joining RCEP could make India too dependent on China for trade.

India has already made trade deals with most of the countries in RCEP, so it doesn't feel the need to join the group.

The government also wants to protect certain industries and products from being overwhelmed by imports.

This is part of a bigger trend where countries are making smaller trade deals instead of big ones, to make their economies more resilient.